Unusual markings on Spotfin Butterfly

Posted November 19th, 2010 by Carlos Estape

Images:

Anyone ever see these markings on what I presume to be a Spotfin Butterflyfish? The image was taken at night off of Grand Cayman. The dark body bar and location of the larger, more pronounced spot, looks like that of a juvenile Foureye. Could it be a hybrid? Carlos

This is common nighttime color display for the spotfin butterfly. Quoting from the H/D ID guide CD-rom: "Occasionally there may be a rather large dark spot at the base of the soft dorsal fin... Nocturnally this spot becomes black, dark bands appear on the sides and the small dot on the fin tip may fade." The CD-room includes 2 photos just like yours.